Meet The Instructors

Jeff Martin –Primitive Lifeways was developed by Jeff Martin who has lived in the high desert for over 24 years. Jeff is a naturalist, instructor and conservationist. As a young boy, he attended boy scouts and practiced wilderness living skills throughout his early education. As Jeff continued with his studies and training in primitive living skills he started training and attending gatherings with various traditional skills instructors. During his advancement in traditional, skills Jeff started teaching basic and advanced primitive technologies at the desert institute in Joshua Tree California, the Malki Museum (California’s first Native American Museum), and many other federal, state, and privately owned organizations. Jeff is a writer for The Backwoodsman Magazine, and had the opportunity to demonstrate primitive technologies on the National Geographic Channel. In addition, Jeff created a successful Youtube channel where he creates educational content in experimental archaeology. Jeff is currently located in the high desert of Arizona where he is nearly complete with his B.A. in Anthropology at Arizona State University (ASU).

Dude McLean –With over 50 years of outdoor knowledge in primitive skills, woodcraft and survival skills Dude is truly one of the re-pioneers of outdoor skills. As a young boy Dude learned from his father how to use the land to ones advantage and how to sustain yourself using the available resources the earth provides. Later in the years McLean spent 90 days in the bush with minimal gear and the will to put his skills to the ultimate test- long term wilderness living. After returning home safely Dude started writing for the ever-so popular magazine Wilderness Way. In addition to many years of wilderness training Dude is a current founding member along side with Alan Halcon and Christopher Nyerges of Dirttime.

Kiowa Sage –While growing up in Prescott, Arizona, Kiowa Sage spent much of his early childhood out on the trails, spending time out in the backcountry, and reading countless books on archaeology, anthropology and primitive skills. Connecting the puzzle pieces of the skills and lifestyle of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Kiowa moved around frequently as a young boy, unable to call a single place his home. As a result of that, and being fascinated with all things primitive, nature was always a constant in his life; his home away from home. Later in life, Kiowa graduated early from high school, took off on the road living an alternative lifestyle closer to nature. Living out in the redrock canyon country, high desert, and ponderosa pine forests. A lifestyle that brought him back to his roots of doing more with less. Kiowa found himself back in Prescott, AZ, and decided to make it his official residence. Shortly after Kiowa returned to Prescott, he had a profound experience while out on a hike in the desert that motivated him to share nature with other people, and to share the skills, knowledge, and mindset that he’s acquired over the years. Since then Kiowa has been furthering his training in primitive skills, and has studied with some of the best instructors and primitive skills technicians from around the country.